


The Third Side of a Coin

by LakeTrees



Category: Critical Role (Web Series) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Multi, Scenting, bit of dom/sub vibe but not explicit, intimate but not smutty, side Sam/Liam and Travis/Laura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-05 02:12:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17316110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LakeTrees/pseuds/LakeTrees
Summary: Travis forgets - one little slip up - but it leads to something that might flip their friendship on its head. AU in which Travis and Liam are both werewolves.





	The Third Side of a Coin

**Author's Note:**

> To begin: Yes, this is RPF/RPS. Now that we have that terrible fact out of the way, let's move on. I wanted there to be more Travis and Liam in the world so I took my dark desires into my own hands and crafted a strange AU-verse around it. Have basically mashed together a bunch of different lore pieces that I like, discarded the ones I don't, and pretended like it all makes sense. Mostly behind the scenes me thinking about things too much, and what's here should hopefully make sense stand alone. No smut because I've not managed to put that skill in my writing wheelhouse but I tired to craft something satisfyingly bonding. Hope you enjoy.

Travis arrived at the rented studio space early, but he wasn’t surprised that it was already buzzing with activity. He managed to talk to Marisha for a few minutes before she was back to flitting around every corner of the place, trying to get things running and keep them that way. They were only recording a small announcement video for a con appearance, nothing major, but one thing he’d learned through the years of them doing this was that even small productions took massive work. 

So, he tried his best to stay out of the way for now, leaned up against a wall and not speaking unless spoken to. Mostly being told, politely, to move. It was fine by him. His day had started off hectic, a combination of sleeping through his alarm and then getting a call from his agent about a surprise second job that day. He'd been moving at high speed ever since. This was as close to R&R as he was gonna get.

Eventually Matt trickled in, then Taliesin. They said their hellos and had a little chat before being ushered away. Something about needed to try on costumes, and Travis really couldn’t wait to see how _that_ was going to turn out. Next to show up was Liam who found his way over after going around and greeting half the staff. _Kiss-ass_ was what Travis thought to himself, but it was with a smile. He wasn’t surprised by that either.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Bailey. How are-” Liam paused for a moment, eyes blinking a few times behind his glasses. “Um- how are you?” Instead of coming in any closer to stand beside him, he stayed where he stopped, only just inside the boundary of what would be considered socially awkward.

Travis gave him a look, but Liam said nothing else, only smiled at him pleasantly in expectation of an answer. “Doing alright. Tired as hell, but that’s nothing new. How are you?”

“The same. Up until an hour ago I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to show up at all, but things worked out.” His gait shifted, from one foot to the other. “Here on your own?”

“Yeah. Came from work, not home. Laura will probably be here soon. Are you sure you're alright?”

Liam had continued to move, first from side to side and then rocking back on his heels. Glancing around subtly like he was looking for something but didn’t know what. The question startled him into stillness, and he smiled again, but it wasn’t as pleasant this time. His head tilted to the side, neck arching just the slightest, like he was trying to work a crick out, before he full rolled his shoulders and righted himself. “Yeah. It’s just… been a long day, you know. I think I need some fresh air after being in a booth all day. I’ll see you for the shoot!” 

Travis watched him practically power walk away, out the main double doors that lead to the rest of the lot. It was weird, to say the least. He glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed the hasty retreat but if they did they didn’t show it. 

He half thought about following him, not wanting to leave him alone if something was the matter. Leaving Liam to stew usually only ended badly, and while Travis wasn't often one of the main people he turned to for that sort of thing he'd be there in a heartbeat if needed. But after some thought he decided against it. He didn’t want to make Liam more uncomfortable than he had already looked, even if he didn’t know the reason for it. Travis hoped that it had nothing to do with him, though it really seemed like it had, but he couldn’t think why that would - 

Oh shit.

Oh, _shit_.

“Oh shit. I forgot, I messed up, wow.” Travis muttered to himself as he fumbled his phone out of his back pocket, quickly opening up his texts and shooting one off to Laura.

_> Hey babe. You still at home?_

_> No, on my way. Momentarily stuck in traffic, ugh._

“Fuuuuck!” He tried to shout quietly to himself, pitch tiny and high, but a passing assistant still gave him an eyebrow as they went. 

_> Any chance you can swing back by?_

_> If I wanna be super late, sure. Why? What do you need?_

_> I might have forgotten to take my meds this morning in all the rushing_

_> Oh, gotcha_  
_> That’s not so bad right? The day is almost over. We just gotta do this video then we’re both home free._  
_> Oh wait_  
_> Fuck_  
_> Is he there yet??? What does this mean??_

_> Yup. He sort of ran away from me._

_> Fuuuuuuuck._

Travis sent a few more text messages, but no replies came, and he assumed that the traffic had cleared up enough to take her attention. So he tried to meld further into the wall and not bang his head against it a few times. Stupid, real stupid. He’d been taking his suppressors for more years than he could count now; they were second nature like brushing your teeth or changing your underwear. But like everything else they could get lost in the shuffle of a routine change. And Laura had been right, most of the time it wasn’t so bad to forget. Other werewolves were spare enough, proven by the fact that he’d gotten through the whole day until then never realizing. And chance had been on his side up until now, such rare days never falling on times when their motley crew had gathered together. It was bad luck that put another wolf right square in his closest circle of friends.

No, not bad luck. That sounded harsh and he regretted the thought as soon as he had it. Forgetting was bad luck. 

He thought about pulling Marisha or Matt aside, telling them the situation. Maybe offer to sit the video out. But it felt - awkward. A very special sort of embarrassing. All their friends were too good of people to make anything out of it. As a group they’d all had an understanding of the situation from the start of their very first D&D game a zillion years back - even further for only Travis and Liam. But the subject had never much had a reason to come up since, aside from occasional joke fodder, and shining the spotlight on the both of them now felt too exposed. 

He also wanted to apologize to Liam, but that was an even worse idea. So he stayed in his spot and chewed his lip, waiting for Laura to show up.

When she did show up it was with Sam in toe. The pair of them walking into the studio together, huddled close and talking. The two of them together could turn bad under the best of circumstances, so he allowed himself an inner groan before straightening up and greeting his fate.

“Liam says you stink.”

Next to him, Laura barked out a laugh. “It’s true, that was his exact phrasing.”

He was quickly beginning to revise his _“My friends are good people who won’t make this into a big deal”_ assumption. Though for the humor of his opening, Sam was giving him a very calculating look. 

“I guess that isn’t a bad way to describe it to an outsider.”

“So you forgot?”

“I forgot.”

The admission seemed to do little to tone down the scrutiny he was receiving. Sam didn’t look mad; skeptical, maybe. A little of that protective side that he tried hard to hide under dick jokes and ego showing through. Through the years of observing their friendship-marriage-who-knows-what-bond, Travis had always quietly speculated to himself that in some universe out there Sam was very much an Alpha. If only for Liam.

“Look, I’ve been thinking, and I can just tell Marisha to cut me out of the promo. I don’t have any lines or anything. If the fans ask about it we’ll pretend I was sick. It’s no biggie.”

“Liam said you would say that.” Laura spoke with a smirk that was a little too smug, before she settled into an expression more serious. “And then he said not to worry about it. We’ll just make sure you guys stand apart from each other. His almost exact words were, tell Travis to stop beating himself up over it.”

“That’s nice of him, but it’s a terrible idea.”

“I agree.”

Laura looked over at Sam with a frown, and Travis was also a little thrown by the quick agreement. “Why? _Liam_ didn’t think so, and he’s the person who’d know best.”

“Liam thinks a lot of things,” Sam waved his hand slightly, “I ignore most of it.” Sam moved from addressing Laura to looking square at him once again. “This isn’t me saying I don’t trust you, because I do. But this is a very specific kind of Pandora’s Box we have here.”

“That’s dramatic.” Laura added.

“Your husband is a very virile wolf man, Laura. Apparently he’s been downplaying it to you all these years, but it’s only a matter of time before half the Os in LA are knocking on our doors.”

It was said with his usual cheek, and Laura cackled, the two of them riffing back and forth over it for a moment, but Travis knew he said it in half truth. No, he wouldn’t be able to attract any other werewolves from nearby buildings on the off chance there were any, but - it wasn’t really a thing to brag about, not to outsiders especially since they didn’t know the differences anyway. Even to his wife he'd never really gone down to this level of particulars. But the blockers he had been on for most of his life now were of the strongest variety, and it had taken a lot of tinkering to get to the point where they worked as well as they did. It wasn’t really possible to smell yourself, unless you went around marking intentionally which was more than a faux pas, but he had a pretty good idea of his own normal levels.

How Sam knew anything even approaching the truth though, Travis wondered. Wondered if he had managed to talk with Liam before Laura showed up, and what exactly he had said. A little tickle in the back of his head that he hadn’t felt since his college days made itself known. He ignored it.

Travis was about to head off to find Marisha and explain the situation to her when the subject of their conversation appeared. Liam walked over to the group of them with confidence, looking quite like his normal self. This time he didn’t hesitate as he came to stand in front of Travis, falling in next to Sam.

With good natured exasperation, Sam turned to him. “What are you doing here? We aren’t done gossiping about your boner yet.”

“Just got done jerking off, so I figured I should come back in and see how things were going.”

“Such a minute man.”

“It’s alright Liam, it happens to a lot of men as they age.” Laura grinned, and Liam laughed at her.

“Thanks for the support.”

Travis knew they were all trying to make this as normal as possible, and that was good. The only way to approach the rest of the afternoon really. Still, he watched Liam carefully, studying him. Trying to see if he was really as okay with the arrangement as he seemed. Looking for… something, though Travis wasn’t sure what yet. 

For a second Liam caught his eye, but he only smiled a little bigger and then looked away.

It wasn’t much longer of a wait before they were ready to begin. As far as skits went, the setup for this one was fairly simple, only Matt, Talisen, and Laura having a few lines while the rest of them were expected to react in various ways. The process turned out to be painless. 

Liam kept himself orbited as far from him as could be managed in such a small space, except for when directed to stand right in front of Travis so he wasn’t lost in the background.

With Laura more locked in place Sam did his best to act as a buffer between them, except for when Marisha grabbed onto him and roped him into some kind of extreme pantomime, leaving Liam close enough that Travis could feel his body heat.

Travis stayed hyper aware of his own movements, except for one moment where he got lost in a joke, and he knew only his ears picked up the tiny noise that Liam let out as he accidentally knocked his shoulder into him.

Everything was as it would normally be, except for the ever so light scent that began to build as the minutes went by, really barely there. He found himself subtly searching for it, nose casually trailing the air with his movements and reactions as he acted. Liam was leaking emotions even through his suppressors, though it was a mix he couldn’t quite catch at such low levels. A chant of _badbadbad_ and _goodgoodgood_ went off in his head every time he caught it.

So, painless. Fairly. 

Thankfully no one besides Sam and Laura seemed to be cued into the particularly strange dance going on among them. 

The group filming eventually wrapped, only a few bit soundbites left for the three main players to put on film. Travis had planned to make a hasty retreat home at the first possible chance, knowing that Laura wouldn’t give him shit for leaving without saying goodbye. Instead, he found himself being lead away from the main staging area and into the winding back halls of the studio by Liam’s firm grip on his arm. He felt eyes on the back of head as they left and had a pretty good guess who they belonged to.

Various random rooms made up the back area, storage and dressing and junk that had nothing to do with their own production. Only a few others seemed to be back there and knowing that the two of them were part of the cast meant they paid them no mind. Travis hadn’t been back here, had no clue what room was what, but maybe Liam did. Or maybe he didn’t care and simply chose a door at random, flinging it open with a bit more force than necessary. 

Travis had felt like maybe he should have said something on their way back here, mostly _What are you doing?_ or _Sorry._ or _You probably shouldn’t._ but Liam hadn’t said anything either so he stayed quiet. It didn’t help that the heady mix of Liam’s scent had been trailing in front of him the whole way. 

Rather than dragging him along into the room, Travis was dumped by the doorframe, Liam slipping in by himself. A soft thud - maybe Liam’s back hitting the wall judging by the slight vibration Travis felt - followed by a breathy laugh drifted out into the hallway.

“Uh, just give me a second.”

“Sure. Take your time.”

“Sorry. This is probably one of the first times in near 15 years I’ve had to do this. You’ve thrown me for a bit of a loop Willingham.”

Travis wondered which part of the situation “this” applied to, but didn’t ask. “Sorry. I was going to leave, before the shoot I mean. Skip out in filming. I still should have. Or I should have been together enough to realize my mistake before I even got here.” He knew feeling guilty was useless and Liam wasn’t upset in the first place, but he still wanted to apologize now that he had the chance.

There was another laugh, this one more steady. “It’s alright. You know me, too stupid and too stubborn, so I decided to stick it out. It’s not a- this is too stupid,” there was a quick shuffle and then Liam’s head appeared through the doorway, “come in here. I thought it might be better this way but nevermind.”

Liam disappeared again and Travis followed after. Closing the door behind him felt like the thing to do.

The room was small, and mostly empty, save for some sort of wall cabinet overflowing with various kinds of cables and a few spare metal chairs. A spot in the linoleum creaked as Liam shifted back further in the room to make space for Travis. Not quite trying to get away from him, but a clear show of how aware he still was of him. Travis watched his throat bob as he swallowed hard. But, he didn’t look scared or cornered. 

He could feel the baser parts of his brain lighting up, errant sparks of impulses that lived in his DNA despite his wishes. Not that he was the type who ever regretted being born what he was, but it certainly was - inconvenient, currently. As he observed Liam, who seemed content to be an object of attention for the moment, he tried to recall the last time he’d even had someone scent him. This wasn’t the first time he’d been forgetful (wouldn’t be the last), and a time or two he’d purposely let his blockers lapse. College fun mostly. A side effect of blocking everything out day to day mean that when you did go natural, it was a very heightened experience. But that was practically a lifetime ago, before he and Laura became a thing. Sometimes the two of them indulged in a bit of roleplay; Laura learning over the years various ins and outs of werewolf behavior and playing a cliched dutiful and begging Omega for him. It was fun, and sexy, but not the real thing.

It was very different to stand in a room with an actual Omega. Sense their otherness in a way that couldn't be described to an outsider. Finally pick up on the distinct scent of _nervous_ and _aroused_ and _confused_ that filled up the tiny room. 

Travis had never considered himself an _Alpha_ Alpha. He knew he had a soft streak as wide as a canyon, and most of that shit was bad stereotypes made up by people who didn’t know better anyway. But he was beginning to remember what it had been like to indulge, just a little.

“You alright? Tell the truth.”

Flex your power a little, a soft but firm tone to get another person to shiver ever so lightly.

“I’m fine. I might spontaneously combust, but I’m fine.” Liam licked his lips. “You?”

“You stink.” Travis used his own words against him with a small smile, and Liam gave a nervous hum, face heating up a bit at the remark but not offended by it. 

“I was worried about that.” He scrubbed the side of his neck with a hand, and Travis wondered if he knew that he let himself drift a few steps forward with the movement or if it was an unconscious choice. “I switched to only the most basic kind of suppressors, I don’t know. Long time ago. Wasn’t any reason to keep up the hard stuff.”

“You said 15 years.”

It wasn’t a question, but it was. If Liam wanted it to be. 

He nodded, gaze slipping away to study the walls. “Not exact math, but around there. Not the pill switch, I mean the whole song and dance. Somewhere a little past when I got married. Since my wife's not one of us. But you knew that, I'm only rambling.” He shrugged. “I’m old, remember?”

He couldn’t help the audible exhale that came out from him, and it made Liam’s eyes snap back to attention, studying him again. The admission of _past when I got married_ had slipped so easily that Travis wasn’t sure how he should take it. An honest fact shared to a friend, or some kind of information he was meant to keep for himself. 

Liam as a player in their games every week was shrewd; calculated. He always had a keen sense of what to do and what to say to have a story play out with maximum flair and drama, or how to take what the dice gave him and make it work for himself and the group. 

Liam as a friend wasn’t much like that at all. Kind to a fault, ready to share any part of himself with you if he thought you’d have it. 

Liam as a werewolf? Travis didn’t know at all.

He wondered if he liked to _indulge_ once up a time too.

“Can I do anything for you?” Travis let his voice come out slow and easy, his posture straightening and opening up. This time it was a question. One he didn’t know why he was asking. It was probably an unfair one.

Liam shivered again, his fists clenching at his sides. It only took a moment for a wave of _annoyance_ to hit Travis. “Don’t fuck with me, please.”

“I’m not, honestly.” Travis took a half step forward, a test, and when Liam didn’t react he turned it into a full one. Then one more. “I meant what I said about being sorry. And this isn’t something I’m used to either. You’re my friend though, so if I can… I don’t know, make it up to you somehow, I will.”

“Yeah?” His grin was unusually sharp, and it was easy for Travis to imagine the pointed teeth that he knew he could shift and sport in that mouth. “Just like that?”

“Maybe.” A shrug and another step forward. “Depends on what you ask for.”

He definitely was being unfair now. It wasn’t lost on him that his wife was only a few feet away outside that door, and Liam had his own somewhere out there waiting for him to come home. Not to mention Sam, who out of all of them might be the one that actually kicked his ass. So, he would let Liam take the lead and tell himself it was the smarter choice.

Liam growled then, a true growl. The kind of noise that you didn’t use even in the voice booth for a job because it was real in a way that normal humans didn’t know what to do with. Deep and vibrating and Travis felt a rumble in his chest call out in response. _Wantwantwant_ thrummed off Liam clearer than any of the other signals, but he didn’t move.

“Give me an order. Any order. It doesn’t matter. Just…. tell me to do something. Please.” The words came through a tight jaw and rumbled still with the heat left from the growl. It wasn’t a request Travis had been expecting, but it sure told him a whole hell of a lot.

And it put the ball firmly back in his court.

Straightening himself to his full height, Travis nodded. “Alright. Come over here, stand in front of me.”

He didn’t quite rush, but there was no delay in his movements as Liam crossed the final paces between them. Settled his presence firmly in Travis’s space. Looked up at him expectantly. If this were any other situation a smug point made about how Travis had used up his free order might come, but seeing Liam up close he could already tell he was halfway gone in his own head. Pupils dilated wide, breathing audible. That told him a lot too. Alpha power wasn’t absolute; an inborn predisposition, more like. An Omega could take or leave a power play if they deemed an Alpha unworthy or weak, or if they plain didn’t like them. A more powerful and unscrupulous Alpha could at times force a hand, but the fact remained that Liam wasn’t under any sort of spell. Travis pulled, and Liam followed.

“You like this?” 

“Is answering that one of your orders?”

“Not if you don't want it to be.” 

Liam said nothing, another wave of red heat creeping up his neck, and Travis could feel _shame_ follow along with it. But he didn't look away even if it very much seemed like he wanted to. 

“Don't worry about it.” He let his own voice go deep, let a little of that power to command ( _suggest_ ) also be used to comfort, and he bridged the last gap between them; reached out to curl his fingers around one of Liam's wrist. A small wrist, his mind corrected. Small enough he could fit his grip all the way around it. “Tell me something else, then. How do I smell to you?”

Liam whined then, too loud for such a small room that only had the illusion of privacy considering where they were. “Travis-”

He wanted to push. Because really, he nearly didn't know where his own head was at right now. Part of him knew they had already taken this too far. This was one of his best friends, and they had stepped over three or four lines just to get here. Another part of him could feel the same sense of want in himself, built up and ready to burst. And he wanted to hear Liam say it. 

But he didn't push, one boundary he wouldn't break. _Yet_ the wolf in his head supplied. 

“Tilt your head.”

This, Liam did without hesitation. Bared his throat, near panting as he offered himself, made himself vulnerable. There was no true threat here. This was not the far away world of their ancestors where pack laws and necessary domination were part and parcel of everyday life, but it was still an offering of trust, and more. Travis's mouth curled as he growled at the sight.

He didn't bite, didn't leave a mark - that was too much. It wasn't even quite a kiss. He only leaned in low, lips brushing against the pulse point that throbbed there, his for the taking. Took in a deep audible drag of Liam's scent up close. It nearly made him lose the last of his senses; he could feel his fangs begin to press against the inner skin of his mouth, but the sudden grip of hands on his biceps and the soft whimper Liam let out at the contact kept him present. He quickly roped an arm around Liam's waist, logical side half afraid the other man would lose his knees out from under him, and pulled away.

“You good?” It came out slightly hoarse so he cleared his throat, quietly as he could. Making too much noise suddenly felt wrong.

“Stupid question.” Liam didn't sound much better off, though he managed to put the slightest bit of humour into it. Already trying to right things to their normal course. “But nice of you to ask. You're a good date.”

“I try.”

When he was sure he was steady Travis let go, let Liam step away again to a more sensible distance. “What about you?”

“I'm alright.”

“Okay. Good.” Liam pushed his glasses back into their proper place on his nose and shifted his hips, and Travis did the polite thing by pretending he didn't notice the reason for that tenting out of the front of his jeans. If only so he'd be afforded the same courtesy. “We'll have to talk about this, eventually. You know that.”

“Yeah. Preferably when we don't have people waiting on us.” 

Liam cringed sightly, and Travis agreed with the sentiment.

“Right. A better time. But we'll find one?” 

“We will.”

This seemed to reassure Liam a bit at least, and he nodded. There was no way to end things that wasn't awkward, so Travis turned to leave, Liam following along. Things had already slowed down in the small amount of time they had been alone - it has felt small, he hoped it was small - and when they were back in the main area the only two of their little troop that seemed to remain were Sam and Laura. There sitting side by side on an empty folding table.

“You guys done fucking?” Sam called out when they were still halfway across the room, causing Laura to roll her eyes and smack his arm. She was unmoved by the loud _ow_ that followed.

“Like you said Sam, I'm a minute man. One and done.” 

“Never for me baby, cause I know just how you like it.” 

Sam got down from the table and met Liam a few steps away. They didn't say anything else for a moment, only looked, but that seemed to communicate a wealth of things between them. Sam then looked over at Travis, and he couldn't read the expression there. Liam touched his arm and he turned back. 

“Come on. It's been a long day, let's everybody get home.”

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

They all said their group goodbyes, and it was surprisingly not as uncomfortable as it could have been. Laura and Travis hung back another minute as Sam and Liam left first.

“So, is it better if I ask or if I don't?” Laura looked at him with a mix of scrutiny and curiosity, but no anger. Not for the first time Travis felt like he didn't deserve her.

“We didn't do anything.”

“I don't think that's true.” When he tried to interject she laced her arm with his, starting to guide them at a meandering pace in the direction of the parking lot. “I'm well aware you didn't have enough time to get naked and make each other see stars. And neither of you would anyway. But I do have impressive skills of deduction, and eyes. I'm only wondering if what you guys did was like something we would do together, or if it was… wolf stuff, I guess.”

Despite the conversation Travis chuckled at the phrasing. “Wolf stuff.”

“Okay. Does it mean something?”

“I don't know. It was just….” he tried to think of a way to describe it, because Laura wasn't totally in the dark about these kind of things, but nothing good would string together. 

“How about this,” they paused just outside the building, and she reached up to cup the side of his face with her palm, “we'll go home, eat some dinner, put on our PJs, and we can talk about it.”

“Sounds good. Love you.”

She grinned and patted his cheek before giving it a quick kiss. It was still enough to bring up just the slightest spark in his gut thanks to all the leftover tension. “You better. And don't feel too sorry for yourself, you only have to deal with me. Liam is married twice over.”

“Yeah, he's fucked, isn't he.”

 

\----------

 

“Come on, over to my car.”

“Why, exactly?” Liam questioned but followed along anyway. It had been easier to act his normal self than maybe it should have been - thank you to years of depression and repression - but his nerves were still on fire and his head was swimming in an overload of hormones that he hadn't had to navigate in over a decade. Sam, god bless him, was a beacon that he let guide him for the moment.

“We're gonna drive around for a bit. I'll even roll the window down and let you stick your head out if you need it. But I think you need something, at least. Time to cool off. Right?”

Liam hadn't actually realized they were already at Sam's car until he was unceremoniously boxed in beside it, Sam pinning him between the passenger door and himself. No, not pinning, because Liam knew without a doubt that Sam would let him go if he so much as twitched. Sam instead made himself into a wall between Liam and everything else, looking him over with a furrowed brow and concerned eyes. 

It was almost too much, the proximity. But it was Sam, and even his most base brain knew Sam as someone safe and comfortable and good. Let that override everything else.

“I wouldn't complain. But I'm alright, you don't need to study me like you're doing triage.”

“You'd say you're alright even if you were actively on fire right now. You can't be trusted, Liam.” It wasn't a joke, and Sam was worlds away from amused.

“Offensive, but true. Point taken. Counterpoint, it's Travis. What exactly are you expecting?”

Sam made a little huffing noise, and Liam did his very best not to laugh, because the overbearing concern really was sweet. And he knew what Sam was thinking. He didn't have to ask if Sam _really_ thought Travis was capable of going out of line - he didn't. He was just too busy thinking about hypothetical people out there who weren't Travis. 

In the early days of their friendship Liam could never have dreamed up most of the truths of their relationship now, and one facet of that was how deeply Sam had immersed himself into the wolf side of his life. Most humans ignored it, not out of malice, but because both they and werewolves alike had very carefully cultivated a society where most of it didn't matter. Was forced not to matter, mostly. Sam had been interested though, and wanted to know everything, and was weirdly kind of a pseudo-expert at this point.

So, yeah. Very sweet. 

“Sam, I'm a forty something white guy who does stupid voices and plays Dungeons and Dragons for a living. I'm no longer prime picking for any werewolf out there looking to sow their wild oats. Never have been, in fact.”

“Yeah, well.” Sam shrugged, taking Liam's hand and curling their fingers together. “Their loss. And if you're going to be self deprecating, can you please not try to also implicate me in your insults.”

Liam laughed, bringing their hands up to his face and kissing the top of Sam's. “I'll do my best.”

“Good. And you're extremely sexy, by the way. I enjoy sowing my oats in you very much. Just bucketfuls of oats right on in there.”

“Disgusting. Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”


End file.
